


Mass Effect Andromeda: Epilogue: Meridian

by Shippidds_new_chapter



Series: Mass Effect Andromeda Two: Double the Threat [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Other, part one, post-Meridian, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 18:10:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16979382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shippidds_new_chapter/pseuds/Shippidds_new_chapter
Summary: It's the morning after Meridian, the Tempest crew are finally waking up after their raucous party, and Sara is about to make some pretty surprising discoveries.





	Mass Effect Andromeda: Epilogue: Meridian

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first part of the ME:A Epilogue, which will then lead into the main Mass Effect Andromeda Two story. 
> 
> Here is a link to my Tumblr page, featuring a brief bio on Sara, pictures, and a list of the major choices she made before and after Meridian: https://shippidds-new-chapter.tumblr.com/sararyder
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapters to come.

Sara awoke from the best sleep she'd had in weeks and slowly opened her eyes so she could gaze around her quarters. Everything was as it should be, including the disheveled, discarded items of clothing that remained scattered over the floor. Not all of them belonged to her. The vibrant purple jacket gave clear indication of who slept beside her; not that she needed to know. Peebee. The mere mention of the Asari's name brought a smile to her face and a flutter to her heart.

The human rolled over and found that Peebee was awake too, possibly before she was. The Asari looked like she was trying to find something profound to say. Something romantic? Sara smirked and raised her eyebrows, as if casting an expectant gaze down upon the other. Peebee looked straight back at Sara and comically stumbled over her words; there really was no way of explaining how it felt to wake up next to the Pathfinder.

“Uhh, so... Good morning.” The Asari finally remarked, although SAM was quick to interject.

_“Technically it is afternoon.”_

“SAM...” Sara playfully scolding the advance AI while trying not to laugh at Peebee’s less than impressed expression.

“Shut up, SAM.” Peebee retorted, rather like an angry teenager who was unable to think of a better response.

_“Of course, Pelessaria.”_

A loud clang followed as Peebee launched one of her pillows over towards Ryder’s desk, aiming for the small SAM module. Had SAM been a physical being it would have been a direct hit, but all she achieved was knocking a metalic ‘Andromeda Initiative’ mug to the floor.

Of course she knew there was little chance of the shot actually doing anything to shut SAM up, but it was in her nature to be rash with that sort of decision.The Asari looked back at Ryder with a shrug that said ‘I’ll pick that up later’ before Sara found herself pinned beneath her lover.

“I swear I’ll pull that implant out of your skull if it gets any sassier. I’m the sassy one. Everyone knows that. Second place is up for grabs, I mean maybe Jaal but then again Cora has a bit of a ---”

Sara leaned up and planted a soft, lingering kiss onto the Asari’s lips. Sometimes Peebee could talk. And talk. And talk. Fortunately Sara now had a foolproof strategy for dealing with it. The simple kiss tailed off after a few seconds leaving a brief window of silence where the pair allowed themselves to enjoy the feeling of closeness.

“Maybe Scott.” Peebee mumbled, leading Sara to snort with laughter and then break into a hearty giggle.

“So I’m not even in the top...” Sara briefly counted in her head. “Five?” Peebee’s eyes lit up with their characteristic mischievousness, but she didn’t answer immediately.

“Well, at least i’m not last, right?” Sara’s eyes narrowed as she watched her lover’s smirk growing. For once the Asari was remaining quiet, right when Ryder didn’t want her to.

“Fine. No more Remtech.” Sara threatened, before folding her arms.

_“That is ill-advised, Pathfinder. Undiscovered Remnant sites may hold the key to a greater understanding. Not just of Meridian, but also the entirety of the Heleus cluster.”_

“Ha!!” Peebee annouced victoriously, as Ryder’s humourous ‘threat’ was rebuked by SAM.

“That doesn’t require Peebee though, right SAM?” Sara replied calmly. She asked the AI module, but was staring right up at the Asari with a shit-eating smirk.

“Of course not, Pathfinder. Although Pelessaria’s insights into the Remnant are helpful and interesting, that doesn’t mean I couldn’t offer you the same insights.”

“You wouldn’t..” Peebee muttered to Sara, glaring down at the other girl.

“I might...” Ryder retorted while biting down on her bottom lip to stop herself from cracking up once again.

“Fine.” The Asari ‘dismounted’ the human and climbed off the bed. Instead of wearing her own clothes she grabbed the black and grey ‘Pathfinder’ hoody that Sara often wore around the ship and slipped it over her bare figure; covering everything that Sara had been ogling.

“Peebee... I’m joking!” Sara complained as her lover abandoned her, taking all the warmth away from their tangle of limbs.

“Where are you going?” She then asked with a slight hint of worry in her voice. Alec’s death was still plaguing her thoughts and emotions; this was not abandonment on the Asari’s part but the human was still feeling delicate.

As ever Peebee replied with her jovial chirps. “You’re such a dork, Sara. I’m not going anywhere. Promise.” With that she returned to the bed she now shared with the Pathfinder and positioned herself cross-legged near the foot of the bed.

“Not even slightly tempted to return to your quarters now we’ve had a new pod installed?” The human responded, before turning around and laying back so that her head rested in Peebee’s lap.

“Kallo changed the access code and won’t tell me what it is. So you are preettty stuck with me now.” The Asari seemed genuinely happy about her new set-up. Ryder had affected her in a way nobody ever had before. As she looked down at the human she felt her heart tingling - something Lexi had told her was normal, and yet, she still didn’t really understand how it had happened.

How had she fallen into a situation where she could be happily attached to someone with strings aplenty? Then again, did she need to understand? She loved Ryder and that was all that really mattered.

A short period of silence had ensued as Peebee experienced one of her regular internal back-and-forths, which was suddenly ended by a unexpected outburst which caught Sara by surprise.

“I love you.”

The Asari then closed the distance between them, curling inwards towards Ryder’s lips. Just before the pair clashed she muttered something that had Sara snorting a laugh.

“And not just for your Remtech...”

The short kiss that followed was full of adoration and fondness, but as ever, SAM was going to interject.

_“Pathfinder. It would be wise to get out of bed soon. We do have an important task to start today.”_

“Ughh. Since when did you become my parents? You’re going to be late for school Sara. The ark is going to leave without you Sara.” Ryder remarked, mocking her father’s voice somewhat, before sitting up and huffing. Even then she knew SAM was right.

“Oooh. Gossip?” Peebee inquired as she rose to her knees and rested her chin on Sara’s right shoulder.

“Okay. I probably shouldn’t tell you before I tell everyone else...” Sara started.

“But you’re going to anyway. Good call!” Peebee interjected with a playful jab of her index fingers to Ryder’s flanks.The human yelped and playfully swatted her partner’s hands away.

“Peebs... You know my Mom died before we came to Andromeda?” Sara asked, knowing she’d told the Asari about her mother’s disease, and even some of the memories she’d relived thanks to SAM.

“Yeeaaahhh?” “Well... She’s... Not dead...”

“Okay, even if she didn’t die before we left, I’m pretty sure you humans don’t keep on living past one-hundred and fifty at the best of times.” Peebee jested, but Sara only gave a smirk in response. That wasn’t like Sara.

“No, Peebs. She’s alive. In Heleus. Dad put her into cryo before we left and filed her under a different name. Scott and I found her pod - and now we’re going to search for her cure.”

“Holy shit, Sara... This is huge. Huger than huge. The hugest?” Peebee asked rhetorically, or maybe to herself.

“So that’s our new goal?”

“Well, the goal of anyone who wants to stick around. It’ll be alongside Pathfinder duties, but with Scott joining us, we’ll have an extra pair of hands to help out around here.” Sara sounded determined as she finally managed to peel herself away from her favourite Asari.

“SAM, call a meeting?” Ryder began before looking at the state of her room, including the raunchy, discarded panties. “In the meeting room...”

_“Of course, Pathfinder.”_

* * *

 

Sara had to settle for her ‘AI’ branded long-sleeve top and all-purpose pants - both in the Initiative’s blue and white colour scheme since Peebee had sauntered off wearing her favourite hoody. She did look adorable in it though, so the human wasn’t too upset about the loss. Besides, she knew for a fact that the Asari was wearing nothing else beneath it. That war information worth storing for sure.

She’d quickly popped into the galley to grab a quick breakfast snack bar which she ate on the way towards the operations section of the ship. It was a nice kind of odd not having to worry about the Archon anymore. It meant as Pathfinder she could get back to her real job, rather than hunting a crazed, exaltation-happy alien leader across star systems.

As she entered the research room, she decided to approach the round table and check up on a couple of things. She knew that she was the only one on the Tempest even close to being ready for the meeting she’d just arranged. Kandros had sent her a couple of reports, including a detailed debrief on the previous day’s actions on Meridian.

The APEX strike teams had also reported in. Kett scrambling. Retreating. Those were music to her ears, or rather, her eyes. Then, suddenly, a noise caught her attention.

It was the hiss of a door opening. The entrance in question was the door to the biolabs, and out stumbled her twin brother - Scott. Sara caught a fleeting glance of the toned body of the second human enhabitant of the plant room - Cora. She watched as her brother looked over his shoulder and grinned at the ex-Asari commando who winked coyly at him in return.

As Scott approached Sara the door to the biolabs closed, leaving the siblings alone in the research aream. The female leaned down on the circular table facing her brother who slipped his hands into his pocket. The silence between them only lasted a minute.

"When did that happen?" Sara quizzed her younger brother, although the grin on her face showed that she was happy for her twin.

"What, Cora and me? Maybe you could tell me about you and Peebee at the same time?" Scott fired back. He was always quick and sharp with his whit; usually able to catch Sara out.

"Hey! I was going to tell you! But then ..." Sara defended before her brother finished the sentence for her.

"Shit hit the fan. Don't worry, I'm not upset. Honestly? I'm half-happy for you, and half-surprised you managed to pull someone like her." Scott's shit-eating grin only grew as his sister pretended to be offended.

"Like you can talk! Cora's beautiful! You're not even average. In fact, Mom always said you were the ugly twin." Sara lied, while trying and failing to hide her own smile.

"Oooh, I see. It's jealousy." He jested, knowing exactly which buttons to press to make Sara as flustered as possible. Unfortunately for him, she had a killer weapon in her arsenal.

"I'm jealous? You're the one who fantasised about having an Asari Matriarch sweeping you off your feet and taking 'care' of you." Sara probably should not have gone there given Scott had only been fourteen at the time of that particular revelation, and she had been sworn to secrecy.At least nobody was around to hear her say it.

Well, nobody except Peebee who had quietly slipped into the research room while the siblings were exchanging the playful banter. The Asari's eyes widened as she heard Sara fire back the winning quip and snorted at the thought of Scott wanting an 'elderly' Asari mothering him.

Scott turned and saw Peebee standing there in Sara's Pathfinder hoody, covering her mouth as she quietly snickered away. "It's funny because..." She could barely get her words out as a laughing fit ensued. "It's.. It's funny because..."

Now Sara and Scott were starting to crack up too, granted the latter was a little red in the face. "She'd... you'd be... You'd be the same age as her great-great-great-great-great-great grandchildren." After managing to spill the words through her incessant chuckling, Peebee slid down the wall and held onto her stomach as she continued to laugh.

Scott's shade of red darkened as the Asari put it into context for him. She'd made it sound like he had daydreamed about old women, granted he had, but Asari aged incredibly well; it wasn't like it was with humans.

"What's this about great-great-great-great-great-great grandchildren?" Came the booming voice of their resident Krogan, Drack. He'd been walking across the bridge between the cockpit and the research room when he'd heard the sound of laughter.

"Uh it's nothing, right?" Scott replied and practically glared at Sara to confirm this fact. Sadly for him, Sara was cut off before she could speak.

"I believe Scott has some sort of attraction to older women." Jaal answered Drack as he stood in the doorway of his 'room' with folded arms and a sly smile.

Drack responded with a deep, hearty laugh before he approached the now-red human and gave him a firm pat on the back, causing Scott to stumble forwards slightly. "Oughta come with me to Elaaden sometime, kid. I know plen'y of Krogan women who'd love a young, squishy human play-thing." He half joked, just as Liam and Gil walked through the rear door.

"Wait, are we selling Scott to the Krogan? Takin' one for the team there bud." Liam quipped as Scott buried his face in his hands and muttered "Oh my god..."

"Do you think we'll get much for him Drack? I mean he's probably not enough on his own, but there are some parts I've been looking to get my hands on to make some improvements to the Nomad." Gil piped up jokingly, always happy to join in on a good ribbing session.

"Probably not as much as I could get for him. Trust me, I have contacts." Vetra, who had arrived just behind the two human males remarked with her usual Turian purr. "Also, why are we selling Scott? Could we sell Sara at the same time? I could probably fetch more for them both. Some people like a good pair of twins." She swiftly added, forcing Sara to stop laughing for a moment.

"Hey!" "Nu-uh! That one is mine, Vetra. You can have Liam instead. Or maybe Lexi? What do we need a doctor for anyway?" Peebee stepped in now that she had stopped howling with laughter. It wasn't much of a shock to see her coming to the older twin's defence considering all of the crew knew about their relationship. The kiss after the battle on Meridian had seen to that.

"Not even a day since I patched you up after the Archon, and you are already trying to get rid of me Peebee?" Lexi arrived, followed by Suvi and Kallo; all of whom had come from the front of the Tempest.

The Asari doctor moved to Drack's side and gave one of his large hands a subtle squeeze that nobody seemed to notice - apart from Sara. She felt herself screaming with internal happiness. She knew it would happen eventually!

“So what were we talking about?” Suvi asked as she entered the room with Kallo and spotted Scott looking totally mortified.

“Well basically Scott has a thing for Asari Matriarchs. Or maybe older women in general. Hard to tell at this current juncture.” Peebee replied to the scientist and everyone else who had only heard pieces of the discussion.

“Well they are famed for their beauty, and aparently that grows as they mature.” Kallo responded sensibly.

“Can’t argue with that. Met some pretty good lookin’ Asari in my time.” Drack added. Sara definitely saw him briefly glance down at the doctor by his side, just before the Pathfinder’s gaze moved to Peebee. _Damn right_ she thought to herself.

"How about we put him back in the freezer, and then in another four-hundred years Lexi can wake him up and make his dream come true." Peebee suggested as she looked at the other Asari, only getting a deadpan look in return.

Lexi then looked over at Scott who was practically curling into a ball with embarrassment. "I'm good. No offence, Scott."

"None taken, Lexi." Scott mumbled as he looked down at the floor and prayed somebody would end this conversation. Thankfully for him Cora emerged from the bio-lab in her initiative fatigues and drew everyone's attention. The ex Asari Commando looked back at the rest of the crew and then to Scott, who was still bright red. The blonde raised an eyebrow, seemingly rather confused.

"Hey Cora, did you know that..." Peebee started gleefully before Sara interrupted her, not wanting to embarrass her brother any more. He'd learned his lesson.

"Annnyyyway. Meeting? Scott and I have some pretty big news."

* * *

 

"Well, spit it out Kid. Some of us don't have that long left." Drack joked and then looked down at the Asari by his side who appeared to be less than impressed with him. The Krogan simply grinned at her and gave her a playful nudge.

Once all the crew were at the top of the ramps and in a circle around the meeting room table, Sara directed her SAM unit to play a certain memory belonging to her father.

“SAM, can you play the vid?”

_"Of course, Pathfinder."_

"Sara, I thought we made this for us! I didn't realise we were going to be letting everyone else watch it." Peebee jested, drawing some knowing glances and snickers from those around them. The Pathfinder pouted at her Asari, knowing that no such footage existed and that her lover was simply trying to make her blush; which she had succeeded in doing.

"Hey, just putting this out there... I'd watch that." Liam remarked with a light shrug.

Scott, who was now standing next to the crisis expert blinked and gave him a light elbow in the ribs for his trouble, causing Liam to wince; pretending that the male Ryder had injured him.

"Hey! What was that for?" He then asked, although he already knew the answer.

"She's my sister, man." Scott replied, before rolling his eyes. "Nobody else agrees anyway, right?"

Vetra, Jaal, Suvi, and even Cora raised their hands; although the latter only did so to toy with the brother. Probably. Sara was left half-mortified that they were even talking about a sex tape featuring her and Peebee, and half-smug knowing that at least four people on the crew had pictured her in such a way.

"Blushing is a real Ryder thing, it seems." Jaal commented, before Sara made an attempt to steer the conversation back to where it was meant to be.

"SAM, can you play Dad's last memory to distract everyone, please?" Sara asked before stepping closer to Scott. Sure, he knew that their father had died on his first mission in Heleus, but it would be different seeing it firsthand.

**Alec:** "And how's Ellen?"

**SAM:** "She remains in cyrostasis. As you hoped it has suspended the progress of her disease."

**Alec:** "Make sure her pod is on the Hyperion. Don't use her real name."

**Alec:** "I'll tell the kids when the

time is right."

Darkness, shift to Habitat 7, moments before Alec's death. He removes his helmet and puts it on his daughter.

**Alec:** “SAM.. Transfer Pathfinder access. Encrypt memories...”

Alec then takes hold of Sara’s shouder, while struggling to breath.

**Alec:** “There’s still hope for your mother...”

As Alec takes his final breaths, the vid fades.

Sara winced as she watched the footage back again. She swore she could still feel Habitat 7's toxic atmosphere depriving her lungs of oxygen, and making her fear that she'd come all that way over six hundred-years just to die on her first mission. Then she'd remembered thinking about Scott and wondering if she'd ever get to see her brother again. She had no memory of what had happened after Alec had given her his helmet, but looking back at her father's memory, she actually felt something she never had while growing up; his love.

In a single moment of selflessness he had given up his hopes and dreams in Andromeda so that his daughter could survive. He'd given her the chance to see the beauty of a new galaxy which was something he had dreamed of for so long, he'd been the reason she had gone on to find the Milky Way species a home, and to find love. No matter his stubbornness or his inability to show his true feelings, her father must have loved her, and Scott. Probably more than he ever let on.

Scott seemed to have taken seeing the final memory rather well. His breathing appeared steady and his eyes were tear free, but then again, as she looked down she saw that his hand and Cora's were latched together in mutual support. Sara knew him better than anyone, even though she had told him of their father's fate while he was still in his coma, it had been completely different seeing it happen.

"Okay, so let me get this straight, Kid. The mom that you thought was long dead in the Milky Way is actually here?" The hulking Krogan asked, look down at the Pathfinder.

"Yep. Scott and I found her pod, and that's the reason I wanted to call you all here. My job as Pathfinder still isn't done - not by a long shot, but now I have something new to aim for. Mom's status pod is all that's keeping her alive right now, but we're going to find a cure. It's up to all of you if you want to help me and Scott in that mission. Trust me, I won't take it badly if you choose to part ways here." Sara looked around at each and every member of the crew, and was overjoyed when she didn't see a single hint of hesitation.

"Well, if you want to keep using my ship, then I suppose you're going to have to drag me along for the ride, Ryder." Kallo was the first to speak up.

"Chance to see more of Andromeda? I'm in. Got nothing better to do." Liam was next.

"Well somebody is going to need to be here patching you up and being the stern, considerate voice of reason..." Lexi shrugged but was definitely smirking. "Just... no more dying, okay?"

"I'm in, Kid. Just keep the Kett comin'." With Lexi on board, Sara wasn't surprised that Drack was staying too.

"With so much beauty left to see, I wasn't planning on leaving until you have me physically removed, Ryder." Suvi jested, drawing a snicker from Sara.

"Sid wants your autograph, and I'm pretty much a guaranteed fixture here now." Vetra replied.

"I suppose the Tempest probably is better off if I stayed, plus, I've never had easier poker games. I could really make a living out of beating all of you. Well, all of you apart from Jaal." Gil boasted playfully, causing everyone to roll their eyes in near-perfect unison.

"Well, after what we saw on that station? I've... got a lot of answers to find too. Of course, only if you would still like me here." Jaal spoke up. It was no wonder he wanted to keep exploring, after what they'd learned about the Angarran creation at the hands of the Jaardan.

“Jaal, you don’t even need to ask. You’re our friend, remember? And Gil needs his ego knocked a litte bit.” Sara replied before her gaze turned to Peebee.

“Do you even need to ask?” The Asari replied.

“I want to hear you say it.” The Pathfinder fired back.

“Wellll... I could be tempted.” Peebee chirped, adding a wink for good measure.

Sara poked her tongue out at her partner before looking to Scott and Cora. She knew her brother was coming, and be extention her second-in-command, so gave them a determined nod.

“Well, okay then. Class dismissed. Go back to recovering from hangovers, and or making out.” The Pathfinder announced. Her crew soon disbanded and scurried back into their hiding places. Scott and Sara were readying to return to bed with their respective partners before Lexi got their attention.

“Scott, Sara? Could I have a word please? In the medbay?” The Asari doctor then looked at Cora and Peebee who had paused on the ramp. “I won’t keep them long.” She added for their benefit, before her attention returned to the twins.

"I think some of my research could help with finding a cure for your mother."


End file.
